Agenda - Council - 04/10/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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B. If there is a shift to the Municipalities in certain voting responsibilities, this must be made clear by a~reement before any election so that the responsibilities of the County and Municipalities are clearly stated. If Municipalities take on equipment and systems that perform certain election tasks and in the event ~f problems, failure and recount, the cities must recognize that they take on new responsibilit.ies. Are smaller municipalities willing to and aware that they may need to conduct their own public accuracy tests? IiI ~ C. It is suggested that warranty dates s~g~ from the first vote . ' . ... count. Prior to the first vote count, vendors provide training to local staff but equipment is generally not in daily operation. D. However, the County and Municipalities should be able to utilize the optical scan equipment for other purposes so that it is not sitting idle in off election years and months. Therefore, bids should request programming and service cost estimates for other usages as well. For example, it is suggested that optical scan equipment also be utilized for the performance of other "count" functions e.g., surveys. This flexibility would make better use of taxpayers dollars. For example, perhaps the equipment could be used to tally survey questionnaires and information of Anoka County citizens on a variety of issues e.g., receptivity to a recycling idea, community development concerns, planning surveys, etc. E. Let's be clear with vendors on County and Municipality need for on-site technical support. In futUre elections, particularly 1992, there may be a need for mo~9. on-site help and it is important'to recognize the need for the participating site to pay for such services. F. Maintenance requirements need to be specifically defined by the County and Municipalities. It is recommended that we request on-site annual maintenance. In spite of the higher costs, there are hidden costs and administrative headaches with depot maintenance. For example, an intermittent hardware or software problem may not be resolvable with a central depot maintenance because the problem may be an on-site problem. Also, the time and cost for Municipalities and the County to transport, maintain cartons, and crate equipment to a central depot has an impact. The vendor does not maintain crates, storage space, nor will the vendor transport the equipment to and from the central maintenance depot. It is important to also know where the central location is, as this impacts transportation and repair turn around time. G. Unisys required a 120 day leadtime from date of order in its bid therefore, delivery before May 1, 1990 may not be possible. H. Other hidden, on-going costs include training costs in each subsequent year for election officials, precinct judges, election creation, ballot creation, pre-election testing, election day. What is specifically included in a vendor's training for a specific year of service? 2 of 4 I10